New HDTVs are stepping backwards in some ways... (major rant)

"[This HDTV] is one of a handful of sets in this size class to offer picture-in-picture viewing. But that goodie isn't really useful to many users. Testing the set in my office, I tried to use PIP the way I had with a Dell TV. The plan was to connect my PC to the Samsung's main input so I could do work on the big screen while watching some TV on the smaller PIP window to the side. Oddly, though the TV tuner for the full screen can display digital and analog feeds, the small PIP window is analog only. At this late date, with the FCC-mandated switch-off of analog TV arriving in early 2009, that money-saving decision on Samsung's part seems unforgiveable."

from: http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/sep2007/tc20070911_195673.htm

This doesn't just apply to just Samsung's best HDTVs, nearly all of the newest and best HDTVs are stepping back to limit Picture in Picture to ANALOG CABLE/ANTENNA (I double checked this with a Sony and it's confirmed)... You can't switch to the inputs which really would frustrate people for instance that would like to swap to an input from a cable box to a game console once a commercial break starts. This is a terrible decision to make, worse than providing more compression via AVCHD @ 15Mbps instead of a proper 24Mbps bitrate. First, we have CMOS rolling shutters stepping backwards to a future of wobbly footage with curved straight lines... Next, AVCHD comes in to cripple and compress further than HDV... Now the newest Picture in Picture modes are so limited they are virtually useless. Even our 13+ year old Sony Widescreen CRT has Picture in Picture switching between the Video inputs. Old Legacy 1080i Panasonic 4:3 CRT HDTVs even have full capability of this feature. Some are even scrapping this feature... These directions that the consumer market is heading gets a thumbs down from me, but then again, I grew up on some of these features.